Robert Upton is led into the courtroom Thursday evening where a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

Robert Upton convicted of '09 murder

By STEVE DOANE

sdoane@capecodonline.com

January 18, 2013 - 2:00 AM

BARNSTABLE — After more than six hours of deliberation Thursday, a Barnstable Superior Court jury convicted Robert L. Upton of first-degree murder.

Upton, 48, of Newton was accused of shooting and killing Aris Manoloules in his Hyannis home on Sept. 29, 2009.

Upton also was convicted of aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon and armed assault in a dwelling house. He was found not guilty of armed assault with intent to rob. As the verdicts were delivered, Upton stood stoically, flanked by his attorneys and just feet away from his family in the courtroom.

As the jury foreman announced the murder conviction, Upton's oldest daughter, Haley, let out a sob while the family huddled on a wooden courtroom bench. The family declined to comment further after the proceedings.

As Upton was led to the waiting transport van for his trip back to the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, one of his teenage daughters yelled "I love you, daddy" across the parking lot.

"I love you too, sweetie," Upton replied.

The verdict represents a big win for the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, which failed to win a conviction when the first defendant in the case went to trial. Treefon Manoloules, Upton's brother-in-law, was acquitted in October 2011 of masterminding the killing.

"We feel like justice was served here and we're quite satisfied with the verdict here," said First Assistant District Attorney Brian Glenny, who prosecuted the case.

Damning evidence

Although much of the evidence presented in the two trials was the same, Upton's taped police interview — not shown during Treefon Manoloules' trial — was a boost to the prosecution. In it, investigators grilled Upton for hours about his knowledge of the killing. The defense unsuccessfully tried to keep it from being allowed into evidence, saying that Upton was under the influence at the time of the interview.

Another damning piece of evidence was the murder weapon, which was found in Upton's girlfriend's apartment days after the killing. Ballistics testing linked the Ruger P85 handgun to shell casings found at 25 Ripple Cove Road.

The third defendant in the case, Christopher Manoloules, is scheduled for a court appearance Jan. 24, but no definite action will be taken that day, Glenny said.

Christopher testified for the prosecution at both his father's and uncle's trials, but no plea agreement has been announced.

'Unfortunate' case

On his way out of the courtroom Thursday evening, Upton's attorney Daniel Solomon lamented the verdict, but said he had no regrets about his handling of the case.

"Any criminal case is unfortunate and this is an unfortunate set of circumstances," he said. "I actually am my own worst critic, but I really think we did this the right way. We have to work with what we're given."

Upton is due back in court this morning for sentencing, but there's no question as to how much prison time he'll get. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

For a defendant to be convicted of first-degree murder in Massachusetts, he or she must be shown to have killed someone with one of three conditions: deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, or in the commission of a felony punishable by life in prison.

Upton was found to have acted with deliberate premeditation and his conviction of armed assault in a dwelling house carries a life sentence. He is entitled to a mandatory appeal to the state appellate court.

The victim's family also will make impact statements to the court today.